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The Liz G

Meet: Asia Milia

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Asia Milia is a girl boss in the making. Being only the age of 21, Asia accomplished many milestones. She interned at New York Fashion Week, ESSENCE Magazine, Mia Tucker Williams as an Assistant Fashion Stylist, Style by D. Ni’Cole, Hot 97, CollegeFashionista, ADEAM, EHoney Skincare. There is no stopping this woman. Asia is anticipated to graduate from Hampton University in May 2017 which is literally right around the corner. CONGRATS Asia! We wish you the best with all future endeavors.

What or who inspires you? Why?

Claire Sulmers, Shiona Turini, and Kahlana Barfield are a few women that inspire me. They are all successful black women who exude confidence and are about their business. Each of their journey’s inspire me and remind me that my hard work and persistence will pay off in reaching my full potential in the fashion industry. I’ve been lucky enough to meet both Claire and Shiona (in the same day), and I was even more inspired after chatting with them!

How was meeting Claire Sulmers?

What ultimate advice did she personally give you?

Meeting Claire Sulmers was the most amazing day in 2017 for my, by far. I met her during fashion week at an Amöpe Shoe Truck that was driving around the city for the week. Claire announced that she would be there on Instagram and I immediately told my friend we had to go. When I met her I started telling her how much I admire her, our similarities, and all about myself. The advice she gave me was probably the best advice I ever got, and it was so special just because it came from her. She spoke to me about post-grad and insured me that everything would be okay— we discussed how cut-throat the fashion industry can be, but she assured me that I was on the right path. She also took a look at my business cards (which are clear/ transparent), and she told me that while they are cute they could be easily lost. She gave me a website that would be good for business cards and help me be memorable, and also gave me tips such as, not putting my animated logo on my card.

What is your why? (i.e. What motivates you?)

What motivates me most is seeing my future— my businesses I envision, sitting at the head of a corporate table in the fashion industry, traveling, etc. I know my goals vividly, and seeing that keeps me going. There’s no better motivation than that. Also, I have certain people that I feel like I have to do this for. I’m my mom’s only child, and she worked so hard for me to have everything I have today so I have to show her that her hard work didn’t pay off and that even though I’m extremely hard-headed, I do listen to what I need to listen to. I also have a niece that’s 8, and a little cousin that’s 17, and they look at me like their own personal celebrity. I have to be great for them, because I want them to grow up and say that I was the one who motivated them when things got hard. Those two are my hearts, they mean the world to me.

Where do you see Asia in the next 5 years?

To be honest, if you would’ve asked me this 2 years ago I would probably have an exact position that I saw myself in 5 years and had the plan down. However, a lot has changed. In the next 5 years, I don’t know where I’ll be, but I know I’ll be growing with either a leading luxury brand or a magazine, and I will have my brand fully established. Being a few weeks away from graduation, I don’t even know where I will be in 5 months, so to predict 5 years is hard, but I’ll be bossed up and winning somewhere!

How do you define being a girl boss?

I define being a girl boss in a lot of ways— a girl boss is a fearless, hardworking, determined to win leader. She knows when to lead, and when to follow. She also does not take advantage of her success, but she helps others; that’s a boss. I believe that success is nothing without reaching down and helping the next girl win, there’s space for us all, and all of those things go into being a girl boss, with a side of sassiness and style, of course. But, ultimately a girl, driven to win and deeply rooted in her success.

How do you stay organized?

The best way I stay organized is by having a planner. I write every single thing I need to do in it, if it’s not in my planner it’s probably not in my mind because that holds everything. I write what days I have to do certain things, and previously I kept a blog schedule, but with trying to graduate I’ve fallen off of it a bit. But, my planner keeps me 100% organized.

How do you deal with pressure?

(i.e Losing friends, Work overload, Failures & e.t.c)

I deal with my pressure by working out and talking to my boyfriend or my close friends. I started working out consistently freshman year for weight loss, and throughout my journey I’ve realized that working out is my therapy. If I had a bad day and I work out, it makes it better. Sometimes I just jog and think about everything, it’s like a personal release for me. Speaking to my boyfriend helps me deal with pressure because he instantly calms me down and reminds me of all the good that outweighs the bad. I’ll call him complaining about 5,000 things going on, and on venting. And, he reminds me of what’s important and knows how to lift that pressure. I also have close friends that I can vent to and they’ll always assure me that I’m going to be good, sometimes we’ll spend time together and that’s all I need.

How do you deal with hate?

I deal with hate by simply letting it drive me. Acknowledging the hate slows me down— I know who my haters are, it’s the ones who I would least expect. But, knowing that I have haters reminds me that I can’t stop being great. This was never too much of an issue, I don’t really address it, hating on me is the funniest thing you can do, because I try to help everyone. So, the people that hate on me are mostly just plain, ol’ bitter, because Asia Milia is just striving to be great and help others. I’ll help my haters too, that’s how giving I am. Karma will deal with them, that’s not my job. Hating gets you nowhere though. And, to any of my “haters” I would recommend them to put that same energy into attaining their goals!

Can you highlight an experience that you went through that taught you a major lesson?

The end of 2016 was definitely a hard time for me. I experienced some hurt in my personal life and it definitely taught me a major lesson. I share a lot of my life, but this particular situation wasn’t one that I shared with a lot of people, only because I was at an extreme low which I shouldn’t have allowed on myself, but I did. I won’t go into detail, but I will say that the experience taught me to not take advantage of anyone, especially when they go above and beyond for you. It also taught me to not take anyone for granted, because a person can take but so much. Ultimately, this experience taught me to learn how to think for myself, and make decisions for myself because myself and no one else determine my happiness. There have been a few changes in relationships since this experience, some for the better and some for the worse, but I learned multiple valuable lessons, and at the end of the day, I chose Asia. Always chose you and your happiness, because your life is no one, but your own— and, always remember, love wins!

What advice would you give to anyone in college that is trying to break into the industry?

Don’t be discouraged. Don’t depend on anyone. Be persistent. The fashion industry is cut-throat, and it’s hard— especially for African-American women. But, when you know what you want, and you go for it, there is nothing that can stop you from getting what is yours. It is easy to wait for your school to release summer internships or see what other people are getting into, but when it comes to the fashion industry you have to go out and find these opportunities yourself. Nothing will fall in your lap; nothing fell in mine. If you know working in the industry is what you truly want, do your research and find the right place to break in. It’s also great to have your own brand. If you want to be a stylist, save and invest into some clothes, find some friends, and style them. If you want to be a writer or editor, create your own platform. If you want to be a buyer, follow trends, watch retail and how it works or even try to get a retail job while you’re young because that is the easiest way to get your foot in. That is exactly what I did, I worked at New York & Company and then Banana Republic, and most of my co-workers were not interested in working in fashion at all, but I was. I watched as the summer clothes left, and the fall trends came in, the type of sales they had, and more.